Last week Florida State confirmed that legendary former Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden will be returning to Doak Campbell Stadium for the first time since he was unceremoniously forced out in 2009.
For the first time since that announcement nearly two weeks ago, Bowden has addressed why he finally decided to return home after being away for nearly for years.
First and foremost, it’s what Bowden has stated on numerous occasions in the past. He simply wanted to give his successor, Jimbo Fisher, some space sans his legendary shadow looming over the rebuilding of the FSU program.
From Bowden’s conversation with the Tallahassee Democrat:“I just have not been in a hurry to get back,” Bowden said.
“I really wanted to give Jimbo some space. I know what it’s like to have somebody looking over your shoulder, everyone comparing, everybody saying, ‘Why don’t you do it this way?’
“I know it’s best for the head coach to leave town, if he’s been there a long time. If I had only been there three or four years, it wouldn’t have made any difference.”
The other reason for his decision to return? It’s pure dadgum Bowden.
“The university wanted to do it, they asked me and I went along with it,” Bowden flatly stated to the Democrat.
The 83-year-old Bowden will actually make two returning trips to the field named his honor and was a big part of his 377 career wins, the most ever at the FBS level. The first will come Oct. 26 during a game against North Carolina State. The second, Nov. 16 vs. Syracuse, will be a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the school’s first national championship team.
The October return will come a year and a half after it was announced Bowden would be returning as part of the 2012 class of FSU’s Hall of Fame.